GUINNESS PRO12: Huge task ashead for Ulster going to Dublin to face Leinster says Rob Herring

The clash of the two Irish giants gets the play-offs underway on Friday night with defending champions Glasgow Warriors going to Galway on Saturday evening to face Glasgow.

Leinster finished top of the ladder at the end of the regular PRO12 season and will be slight favourites given home advantage and their record in Dublin over the Ulster side in recent seasons.

But Ulster also travel confidently as the in-form side going into the play-offs after impressive wins over Leinster and Ospreys in the final two weeks of the campaign which secured their place in the play-offs.

Although Ulster’s away form has not been what they would like, they were the only side to defeat second placed finishers Connacht at home in the league campaign this season.

And the way they put Ospreys to the sword on the final day of the season 46-26 at Liberty Stadium reflects a side who can step up to the plate when required.

The win over Toulouse away in the European Cup is another which can add to the argument that the Ulster players can not be worrying about performing on the road.

Ulster hooker, Rob Herring, also cites the fact they were five minutes away from reaching the final last year, but semi-final hosts Glasgow grabbed a last gasp try and conversion to deny them.

“Playing Leinster in a semi-final is obviously a huge challenge for us,” he said.

“We beat them (Leinster) a couple of weeks ago at home, but they were not at their best to be honest.

“They will be on fire at home. No one has ever won a semi-final away, so that is the size of the task we face.

“But our fans will be there and they will be as vocal as they have been all season.”

Some may point to the fact that is can be a psychological challenge going into a semi-final as the away team and winning.

Herring said: “If you look at the PRO12 as a while it is difficult to get away wins in the league stages.

“Clubs pride themselves on winning their home games.

“If you look at last year’s semi-final in Glasgow we were probably five minutes away from winning that game.

“We can take confidence from that game at Scotstoun.

“We have shown that we are a team that can go away and can get a performance.”

Meanwhile, both semi-finals were declared sell-outs on Monday.

All 19,100 seats - including 700 additional ones installed over the weekend - sold out by yesterday morning for the RDS meeting of Leinster and Ulster.

The Sportsground in Galway is also a sell-out for Connacht’s rematch with defending champions Glasgow Warriors.

PRO12 also confirmed on Monday that there have already been record sales for the PRO12 final at Murrayfield, Edinburgh on Saturday, May 28.

Martin Anayi, managing director at PRO12 Rugby, the play-off semi-finals are the first chapter of a thrilling final fortnight for the league.

“This is fantastic news for both Leinster and Connacht,” he said. “Ticket sales are also going very well for the Guinness PRO12 Final on 28 May and we are all anticipating a fantastic end to one of the most exciting seasons in PRO12 Rugby history.”

“Fans from all over the league are descending on Edinburgh - now it is up to the four semi-finalists to try and book their place this weekend.”